FIFA Rankings: India maintain 104th rank

The Indian men's national team maintained their 104th rank in the world and 19th in Asia in the latest FIFA men's rankings released on February 18.

Igor Stimac's side ended the year 2020 on 104th position without playing a single match due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

India were supposed to host Qatar in March 2020 before facing Bangladesh and Afghanistan in the remainder of their 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup joint qualification matches from Group E. However, amid the Coronavirus pandemic the fixtures, after initially being postponed to October, now are set to take place in June 2021.

The Blue Tigers are currently placed fourth in Group E with three points from five matches. Qatar top the table with 13 points while Oman are hot on their heels with 12. India are virtually out of contention for the top two spots but a third-place finish is well within the reach of the Blue Tigers. That will book them a direct berth in the third round for the 2023 Asian Cup Qualifiers. 

In Asia, Japan maintained their position at the summit and are ranked 27th in the world followed by Iran, Korea Republic and Qatar who are ranked 58th globally. Among the top 15 teams in Asia, only Oman have progressed by one place to 11th.

Globally, Belgium lead the rankings followed by France, Brazil, England, Portugal and Spain - in that order. Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico and Italy constitute the top 10 spots.